Is guild wars 2 worth playing today?

So I'm curious about guild wars 2 as the game from what I saw from the videos on youtube looks like alot of fun. I just quit eso as that game even tho they claim to have "released" it is still in "beta" lol. It's bugged, some of the class skills r still broken, some classes like nightblade r just becoming a thing of the past in pve because they do not so much damage compared to other classes. And now I'm learning that no one is hardly playing the newly released craglorn because apparently everyone has already beaten it which is a damn shame.

I, personally, am looking for something new and fresh to grab my hands on and have been looking at guild wars 2 for a little while now. Before I decide to spend the money to try it however I would like to ask everyones opinion if this game to you is actually still worth playing? Do you think the classes r balanced well enough? I am a big time pvp person so I'm hoping that this game has some form of pvp progression or atleast maybe something similar wows arena.

Did you never play Guild Wars 2 before?Answering your questions, I am actively researching for other MMOs (already have close to 2 years of GW2) and still didn't found one that even matches the quality I see in this game.ESO, like you said, is paying money to be a beta tester, and Wildstar seems promising but also seems to stick to some MMO grind tropes that I can't stand anymore after playing GW2.If you haven't played GW2, many mechanics are very "new and fresh" to people coming from other MMOs, like the fact that most of the missions you do are dynamic events that end up creating ad hoc groups and making you work cooperatively with other people, and everyone gets his/her own rewards.

Another good thing for you is that there is no grind in PvP. In your first match, you will have the same stats and abilities as the hundreds-hours veterans in the game, except for a very small amount of skills and traits that are not game changers. So, it becomes all about your ability to create a good build (builds are free, and starter builds are easy to find on the internet), use your skills at the right time and DODGE! when people attack you. Or interrupt them. Or counter attack them. Your choice.

About your question regarding balance.

In Guild Wars 2, there are no defined class roles (tank, healer, damage dealer).All professions (classes) are supposed to be their own tanks, healers, and damage dealers, and while a player may specialize more in one role, it is impossible for a player to keep only at one role at all times.

What varies between professions their approaches to dealing and mitigating damage (and to how many foes at the same time).Elementalists are glass cannons great at dealing AOE damage at distance, thieves are great at hit and run tactics, and Guardians can increase the protection for their party, and so on.There was recently a very good Liveblog by the developers in which they explained the "philosophy" they see in each profession.http://dulfy.net/201...ivesteam-notes/This way, you can choose the profession you think will fit you best.

If you are a pvp person who likes structured arena style fights then no, this game is not worth playing. The balance and meta isn't terrible for a mmo, but still very bad when compared to actual pvp games. The meta is being dominated by hardcounters, skill spam and passive random procs. There are very few builds that are competitive and conquest is the only game format. There are only two ranked queues: solo queue and team queue, both of which suffer from terrible match making and the first one is also plagued by one terrible map that is not only too inbalanced for ranked matches, but also filled with bugs. 4v5 matchups in soloq are regular and there is nothing that can be done about them. In addition there are plenty of skills that have been bugged since betas.

If you like pve or "realm vs. realm" style pvp, then you can still consider this game. Just don't expect the structured pvp to be very good.

You can definitely get $40 worth of play out of this game as a new player. Come to it expecting to explore the world thoroughly, spend a little time in WvW, do all the dungeons a couple of times and maybe run a few fractals, and you'll get your box price's worth in entertainment.

If you come to it expecting it to be your long term MMORPG home, though, you may end up disappointed like many of us.

Go for it. This is a nice game especially if you're tired from the typical mmo shenanigans.

I agree up to a point. The levelling experience is fairly refreshing. The "endgame", however, doesn't diverge terribly from typical mmo shenanigans.

It really depends on why you want to play the game. If you want to play casually in small bursts then by all means go for it. Don't let the jaded ones try and tell you otherwise. The game isn't without its shortcomings but it isn't nearly as bad as some people would have you believe.

Now if you are looking for a well developed PvP system then you might want to look elsewhere...

As for paying full price, it is up to you. Personally I think the game is still well worth the $40 price tag.

PvP in this game is pretty shallow. There's no real competitive scene. An afternoon of solo queues will get me in the Top 100 no problem. I couldn't in good conscience recommend buying this game on the idea of focusing on it. It's really a secondary gametype to PvE and WvW.

I would more so recommend GW2 if you're into open-world PvE or large-scale RvR-type fights that you'll get in WvW. I know a lot of WvW regulars are disillusioned by how things are currently with the lack of new stuff, but for new/inexperienced players WvW is a lot of fun. The staleness won't settle in for several months, and by that point you'll more than have gotten your money's worth with the box price.

If you like PvE raiding, I would also steer clear, as GW2 doesn't have much of it at all nor any real competitive PvE scene. TTS and my guild are trading Teq records, and there's a number of guilds out there competing for speed clear dungeon records, but for the most part PvE is an open-world carebear fest that caters to the lowest common denominator. If you're looking for hardcore PvE content, it's few and far between, and really only in 5-man instances. And to get any real cosmetic rewards from high-level fractals or Wurm/Tequatl, you're going to spend a while to earn them, praying to the RNG gods. You'll probably complete a legendary in the time it takes to get the fractal skin you want.

I'd recommend GW2 is a game worth getting overall, but I also don't think that it is for everyone.

Depending on what you consider "endgame" may make or break the game for you. Endgame is little vertical progression (gear grind) and gigantic horizontal one (tons of skins and collectables). A matter of structured PVP (sPVP) Everyone agrees it's not good. It's okay for the casual PVE-ers and WvW players, but not for the hardcore crowd. If this is what you are looking for, I would not recommend GW2 for you.

As the other thing you asked:
-The game if fairly balanced, but there is always an endless discussion about sPVP.
-In terms of population all zones are filled with people every time i log.
-Dungeons are mostly fun, a lot of people are running them, but there are few unpopular.
-Classes are interesting if you are unfamiliar with GW1, so yea, you may like them.
-I am one of the people who plays realm vs realm and to this day I still love it. There is also an "endless" progression in it.
NOTE: Mind you, that PVE and WvW share your progression , but sPVP is completely separate and players start and equal ground in it.
-I would consider it "fresh" for breaking the standard MMO model set by World of Warcraft, but ESO borrowed many mechanics from it, so it may not look so different for you.

So the game is worth a purchase, I have been playing it since the open beta and I am still an active player. Worth a full price if you are into this kind of video games.

Yeah to be honest I'm more of an endgame person more so than any other aspect.

Has there been word on anything about including competitive endgame pvp anytime soon?

You'd be better served playing a real PvP game if you're into competitive gaming. MMO PvP has always been watered down and/or unbalanced compared to other PvP genres. Probably some flavor of MOBA will suit you better. League of Legends, Defense of the Ancients 2, Dawngate and/or Smite. All of them have plus/cons and tend to attract different audiences but all are fairly competitive and only look to be more so in the future as the esports train keeps riding. GW2 wanted a piece of that too but it doesn't seem at all that it will go anywhere, there's not much to offer next to other more robust PvP venues.

My brother-in-law just started playing about a month ago. He would say it's worth it. GW2 has its problems but it's definitely the best MMO out there for people that aren't willing to or can't spend all day playing. It's really in a category of its own for MMOs. For the traditional MMO feel look elsewhere.

One thing that you may or may not be aware is that, in PvE maps, there is absolutely no PvP. You can only kill players on PvP matches or in the WvW maps, which are focused on full-on war between servers (talking about that, choose your server well if that interests you. Some servers are graveyards on this mode).

In the case of the PvP matches that seem to be your main interest, I really think that the matches are fun, although probably not as good as pure PvP MOBAs like DoTA or LoL.
Yes, there is a lot of room for improvement, for example, some PvP maps have secondary objectives like "capture the orb" or "kill the keep defender to gain 30% of the score needed to win", but more diverse objectives such as capture the flag would be nice.
I don't know how is the PvP in games like WoW or ESO, so I can't make this comparison.

And if you like at least a bit the PvE part of the game, you have guaranteed at least 100 hours of fun leveling up to 80, and after that, gearing up your max level character (grind is completely avoidable while leveling up, you may never repeat the same content twice if you prefer).
If you consider the 40 dollar asking price, would mean less than 40 cents per hour of fun. That's a very competitive rate in my book, and if you continue playing, the price per hour just goes on reducing, because there is no monthly fee and the cash store only sells cosmetic and convenience items, nothing essential.

Playing a pre-existing character (made before the "feature pack" Trait Overhaul) in GW2 is mostly as enjoyable as it was before, but rolling a new character will most likely result in some boredom due to the lack of incentivized progress.

Leveling to 30 before ever getting a trait point is one thing, but no longer being able to start a robust character build until level 80 is a real game breaker.

The milestones of character development have been hugely thinned out. Also Traits that once used to be unlocked based on levels are now tied to specific content and gold/skill point sinks.

Also Traits that once used to be unlocked based on levels are now tied to specific content and gold/skill point sinks.

I actually love this change. Obviously you disagree, but I feel like this does incentivize progress. It also rewards those who level by playing the game, rather than buying their way there through crafting.

If there's a trait I really want, and I need experience anyway, it seems natural and like "an incentive" for me to level by doing the content needed to get the trait. Its a series of goals that I find enjoyable.

Nightblade?!? Think you are in the wrong game, mate. EDIT: crap, missed the line about ESO. Sorry!

GW2: I am waiting for July 1st to see the new Living Story. If it's well written and designed, I will play again. If not...

For PvE classes are probably too balanced. Main complaint seems to be that no class stands out for any particular role. PvP, there will always be debate.

this^^apparently living story season 2 is supposed to be different...i just want content. right now you reach lvl 80, with full world completion, and finished all the dungeons, completed your character's gear set, and you think to yourself, ok what's next?

the game has replayability. but that's all it has. the content isn't exactly engaging when you're doing the same thing over and over again...

And for PvP...

It is straight up just terrible and boring. WvWvW has the same 2 maps, and its all zerging. SPvP has the same 5 maps, and its all the same objectives: Capture the circles, defend the circles.

Don't buy this game for PvP. There is nothing like WoW's arena and progression, there's no traditional dueling, there's no arathi basin or anything like the warsong map.

The PvP is absolutely bland in GW2.

WvWvW they place you in a map that is WAY too big, and way too repetitive, the only way to participate is by zerging, and even then you're just travelling with an army and you reach the destination and auto attack. And that's WvWvW for you. If there's no commander, there's no WvWvW because nobody will have any motive to do anything especially when not zerging.

The developers didn't put any creativity or thought into GW2's PvP. It had loads of potential, seeing what they did to GW1's PvP, but they did absolutely nothing for PvP in GW2.

That's the hard truth dedicated GW2 players won't admit.

Yeah to be honest I'm more of an endgame person more so than any other aspect.

Has there been word on anything about including competitive endgame pvp anytime soon?

There are no raids. There is only one "endgame" dungeon, called fractals. Dungeons in GW2 are nothing like the traditional dungeons. They are TOO short, VERY linear, NOT rewarding, the loot is all the same outside of the dungeon. The rewards you can get by doing PvP. You can finish some dungeon paths in 20 minutes, that's how short they are.

There are tricks to each dungeon path that everyone likes to do. example, hide behind a corner, lure mobs, and spam skills in the corner.

It is straight up just terrible and boring. WvWvW has the same 2 maps, and its all zerging.

WvWvW they place you in a map that is WAY too big, and way too repetitive, the only way to participate is by zerging, and even then you're just travelling with an army and you reach the destination and auto attack. And that's WvWvW for you. If there's no commander, there's no WvWvW because nobody will have any motive to do anything especially when not zerging.

That's the hard truth dedicated GW2 players won't admit.

Haha, no. Sorry, but your "truth" does not reflect what i see every time when i log in for guild ops. Only a person who does not play WvWvW would say that. My server is around 10th place in Europe and the WvWvW community is very organized , all guilds interact with each-other , there are "public commanders" who are for random players and everyone are communicating via Team speak. It is not "zerging" content. It was at launch, a long two years ago.

The only point that I would agree on is that the maps are getting stale, but the people are so used to them than a lot of WvWers did not want to try Edge of the mists because of the different layout.

This isn't going to turn into a discussion debating opinions on game regions. If you have an opinion on whether the game is worth playing, state so and why. Just don't run off into debates.

Mod mode over.

While it depends on what you are looking for, yes GW2 is worth the buy if what you have seen so far interested you. I remember how leveling my first character was a blast. I got maybe 60 hours out of that character before I even started an alt. I got the second character leveled and through the game and that one really became my main. I haven't been able to get a single other character above 40 since then though. The leveling experience is great, the first or second time around. The third time I wanted to smash my head on my keyboard since there was literally nothing new to do. So, if you are an altaholic, step with care. I know tons of people have many more 80s than me, but I can 100% say I will never have more than 3 unless a massive expansion comes out that I can level a new character from 0-80 in.

I won't harp on PvP. If you want sPvP, don't bother. The game is 2 years old, the PvP won't suddenly start. As for WvW, some people love it and some people hate it. I personally can't stand it, which was unexpected as it was one of the big features I was excited for. I come from DAoC whose RvR system is what WvW is obviously based off of. If you played that, step carefully. If you consider something like EVE to be the pinnacle of large scale PvP, step even more carefully.

Base PvE? Simplistic and not really challenging, but most MMO players aren't actually looking for a complex combat system. They often complain about features that increase depth if they also increase difficulty. But the PvE experience is worth the $40. If I look at GW2 as a single player RPG I would be satisfied with the amount of content and time I got out of my purchase. If you like single player RPGs? Play GW2. If you don't, and you like MMOs, don't play GW2. It is weird, GW2 is mechanically an MMO unlike GW1. Yet GW1 somehow feels more like an MMO than GW2 for me.

If you do play, research the classes before hand. It can take up to level 40 or 50 to realize you really just can't stand this class. I hit 80 with my elementalist and was dumbstruck at how I wasn't having fun anymore. Leveled the necro to 80 and haven't touched the elementalist since. Which annoys me since the elementalist has the name I use for my character in every MMO ever.

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Did you never play Guild Wars 2 before?Answering your questions, I am actively researching for other MMOs (already have close to 2 years of GW2) and still didn't found one that even matches the quality I see in this game.ESO, like you said, is paying money to be a beta tester, and Wildstar seems promising but also seems to stick to some MMO grind tropes that I can't stand anymore after playing GW2.If you haven't played GW2, many mechanics are very "new and fresh" to people coming from other MMOs, like the fact that most of the missions you do are dynamic events that end up creating ad hoc groups and making you work cooperatively with other people, and everyone gets his/her own rewards.

Another good thing for you is that there is no grind in PvP. In your first match, you will have the same stats and abilities as the hundreds-hours veterans in the game, except for a very small amount of skills and traits that are not game changers. So, it becomes all about your ability to create a good build (builds are free, and starter builds are easy to find on the internet), use your skills at the right time and DODGE! when people attack you. Or interrupt them. Or counter attack them. Your choice.

About your question regarding balance.

In Guild Wars 2, there are no defined class roles (tank, healer, damage dealer).All professions (classes) are supposed to be their own tanks, healers, and damage dealers, and while a player may specialize more in one role, it is impossible for a player to keep only at one role at all times.

What varies between professions their approaches to dealing and mitigating damage (and to how many foes at the same time).Elementalists are glass cannons great at dealing AOE damage at distance, thieves are great at hit and run tactics, and Guardians can increase the protection for their party, and so on.There was recently a very good Liveblog by the developers in which they explained the "philosophy" they see in each profession.http://dulfy.net/201...ivesteam-notes/This way, you can choose the profession you think will fit you best.

I guess it could be, I effectively haven't played since late last year, I just got bored of it, and don't really see a reason to come back, personally : /. I haven't followed it much, so I don't know if it's gotten worse, but eh. From what little I played the other month, it seemed about the same.

My girlfriend can't put the game down. GW2 is great for the first play-through at minimum, and that alone is worth 40 dollars. They've also fixed a lot of the annoying stuff that was plagued around release (some things this forum here told them would blow up in their face), so the first time will go pretty smooth.

The PvP is pretty lackluster, but WvW is still great. Like some said, it's only "boring" to the people who've exhausted it. The PvE is getting a huge boost, and it looks like ANet knows what to do going forward compared to the trainwreck of Season 1. So there's that too.

The scariest thing about all this? Guild Wars is over 9 years old, yet I still enjoy logging in, going through zones, and playing. Playing GW2 has given me much more appreciation for what Anet did with the original, and what's missing from this game. Even the armors were better. At least they were class-specific, not just light/medium/heavy.